Top Causes of Medical Malpractice in New York: Common Errors and How to Avoid Them

By seriousl May 5, 2025

New Yorkers trust physicians, nurses, and hospitals with their lives, yet data show that preventable errors still injure patients every day. Diagnostic mistakes alone drive nearly 29 percent of all paid malpractice payouts, making them the single largest danger in the state’s healthcare system.

Understanding where things most often go wrong—and what families can do in advance—helps reduce the risk of harm and strengthens any future claim a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer in NY may bring on a victim’s behalf.

1. Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis

A missed or delayed diagnosis can turn a manageable illness into a life-threatening emergency. A recent review of New York claims lists misdiagnosis as the leading trigger of litigation, outpacing surgical and medication errors combined.

How to lower the risk:

• Ask for a clear differential diagnosis and the reasoning behind each possibility.
• Bring copies of prior imaging and lab reports to every appointment.
• Request follow-up timelines in writing; if symptoms worsen sooner, return or seek another opinion immediately.

If you suspect a diagnostic mistake, call (518) 483-1440 to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer at Poissant, Nichols, Grue, Vanier & Babbie before records disappear.

2. Surgical Errors and Retained Objects

From wrong-site procedures to instruments left inside the body, surgical blunders can be catastrophic. The New York Patient Occurrence Reporting and Tracking System (NYPORTS) logged 911 wrong-site events and 913 cases of retained foreign objects between 2018 and 2022.

Pre-surgery checklist for patients:

• Insist that every team member confirms your name, procedure, and laterality aloud.
• Mark the operative site with the surgeon present.
• Verify that a post-operation count of sponges and tools will occur.

When protocols fail, a skilled medical malpractice lawyer can subpoena operative notes and NYPORTS data to expose systemic flaws.

3. Medication Errors

According to the World Health Organization, nearly one-third of hospital patients experience at least one unintended medication discrepancy during admission or discharge. Wrong drug, dose, or timing mistakes can cause strokes, kidney failure, or fatal allergic reactions.

Steps to stay safe:

• Keep an up-to-date medication list on your phone.
• Ask the nurse to read each label aloud before administration.
• Use the same pharmacy after discharge so interactions are flagged automatically.

Victims need medical negligence lawyers to trace electronic prescribing logs and barcode scans that reveal exactly when the mistake occurred.

4. Birth Injuries

Obstetric errors—improper fetal monitoring, delayed C-sections, and misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors—can leave newborns with cerebral palsy or Erb’s palsy. National studies attribute more than $1 billion in annual payouts to birth-related malpractice.

Protective measures:

• Choose a hospital with 24/7 neonatology and obstetric anesthesia coverage.
• Ask about shoulder dystocia protocols and average decision-to-incision times for emergency C-sections.
• Record your contractions and fetal movements; speak up if patterns change.

Families facing lifelong care costs benefit from a legal counsel who can quantify future therapy and equipment expenses.

5. Communication & Charting Failures

A single unread lab result or undocumented allergy can cascade into tragedy. Closed-claim analyses show that hand-off errors magnify the harm caused by every other category of malpractice.

What you can do:

• Enroll in the hospital’s online patient portal and review results within 24 hours.
• Summarize each visit in an email to your provider; ask them to confirm accuracy.
• Bring a trusted family member to serve as an extra set of ears.

When silence causes injury, medical malpractice lawyers in NYC rely on audit trails and time-stamped messages to prove that a critical finding fell through the cracks.

Demand Accountability, Not Apologies

Poissant, Nichols, Grue, Vanier & Babbie, P.C. has helped New York families secure justice when hospitals ignore patient-safety rules. Our team blends meticulous medical-records analysis with courtroom skill to pursue every dollar the law permits—including damages for lost wages, future care, and pain. 

Because evidence fades fast, we move quickly to subpoena charts, preserve electronic audit trails, and consult frontline clinicians who can translate complex findings for a jury. New York’s short statute of limitations makes timing critical—every missed day can weaken your leverage. 

If you need an experienced NY personal injury lawyer who understands both medicine and litigation strategy, contact us today for a free case review and start rebuilding with confidence.